UCSB (+1.5) at UC Irvine - 7:00pm Pacific

I'm going to give UCSB at least one more chance.  They led by 21 in the second half of last game before Long Beach made one of the most improbable comebacks in the history of the Big West.  The 49ers ended up winning on an off balance one handed 3-point shot that banked in at the buzzer.  The final score was their only lead of the game.  The Big West has imposed a new format for their postseason conference tournament this year.  Only the top 8 teams get in, seeds 5-8 must win four games to win it all, seeds 3-4 must win 3 games to win it all, and seeds 1-2 only must win 2 games.  The winner of the conference tournament gets the automatic NCAA bid.  This new format puts a much bigger emphasis on the regular season than in past years.  A team like UCSB who is considered a favorite to win the conference cannot afford to start 0-2 in conference play. 

 

I still am not a big fan of the Anteaters.  They blew a 10 point half-time lead on Saturday in their conference opener vs Cal Poly.  They ended up behind for a good portion of the second half and needed a late 8-0 spurt to manage a closely contested 5 point win.  Poly only had four players in the scoring column and wore down late in the game with one starter fouling out and three others finishing with four fouls.  Irvine shot 50% for the game (56% in first half), held a +7 rebounding margin, and attempted a whopping 28 more free throws but still barely won.  The Anteaters played without junior reserve forward Greg Ethington (5.2ppg, 16.8mpg) due to an academic related issue.  He is expected to miss at least one more game before his status is determined.  It was reported in the Orange County Register that head coach Douglass had actually planned to start Ethington vs Cal Poly for a more physical presence but could not when it was learned of his situation.  UCI is already very thin in the post and his absence is a blow.

 

The Gauchos should be very focused after Saturday night's debacle.  This will be just their second game in 15 days and they are a very deep team so fatigue should not be a factor.  UCSB went 14-4 in Big West play last season.  They were 4-0 straight up and ATS in conference games following a conference loss.  Santa Barbara also swept the season series from UCI last season, winning both games by 16 points each.  Even with Saturday's win, Irvine is just 7-15 ATS in last 22 conference home games.  Classes at UCI do not resume until the 9th, so another light attendance from students should be expected. 

 

UCSB   1 UNIT